Boko Haram: The problem with amnesty

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. At moments like this I do not envy President Goodluck Jonathan. Leadership demands tough decisions and choices. And the buck stops on his table particularly in our presidential system of government. There have been persistent calls in recent times across partisan and sectional divides that the Boko Haram insurgents that have killed thousands, maimed thousands more and spread blood, tears and sorrow across the North and beyond over the last two years be pardoned or granted amnesty. Many of those making the case for amnesty mean well. They contend that the military offensive against the terrorist group is not working. Rather, the Joint Task Force is alienating host communities by killing and molesting innocent civilians whenever soldiers are killed. Advocates of amnesty want peace and restoration of normalcy at all costs. It is difficult to blame them. The economy of the North has virtually been paralysed. Poverty has deepened. Fear reigns supreme. Furthermore, the precedence of the Niger Delta is cited. There, militant insurgents that waged war against oil installations and almost crippled the Nigerian economy were granted a general amnesty by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. If peace could be bought in the Niger Delta, why not in the North?

Unfortunately, President Jonathan seems unable to make up his mind on how to handle the Boko Haram challenge. He angered many Nigerians, especially Christians, when he suggested last year that Boko Haram members are our fellow brothers and dialogue with the sect should not be ruled out. Many people felt they could do without such murderous brothers. During his last visit to Borno and Yobe states, the President talked tough by declaring that his government could not negotiate with ghosts. Yet, so shortly after, it has been reported that the same President has now set up a committee to consider the possibility and modality of granting a general amnesty to the Boko Haram sect. President Jonathan does not appear to be showing leadership on this matter. He is simply bowing to whatever is the latest conventional wisdom. The President ought to be aware that the primary constitutional responsibility of the state is to maintain the security and promote the welfare of its citizens. People must first be alive before they can work, worship, pursue leisure or do any other thing.

Those who predicate amnesty for Boko Haram on the Niger Delta precedent make a serious error. The so-called Niger Delta amnesty has not solved the fundamental problems of the region. It has only postponed the evil day. Yes, a few ex-militants have become emergency billionaires. Thousands of ex-militants are practically being bribed to maintain peace in the region so that the country can continue to exploit and export the crude oil without which she cannot survive. The Niger Delta amnesty has become a huge scam spawning the political economy of primitive accumulation – massive corruption. The arrangement is clearly unsustainable. Recurrent violent demonstrations by other militants left out of the deal make this so clear. The problems of environmental despoliation and desperate poverty remain as glaring as ever in the Niger Delta even if certain Ijaw elite that form part of Jonathan’s inner circle are enjoying the time of their lives.

In any case, as many analysts have rightly pointed out, the Niger Delta insurgency was qualitatively different from the ongoing Boko Haram carnage. The Niger Delta struggle was about the damage done to the environment due to oil exploration as well as the unacceptable level of poverty in the region. Oil facilities and workers in oil companies were the prime targets of attack. There were no generalized, indiscriminate massacres like that being perpetrated by Boko Haram. This then is the basic problem with any proposition of amnesty for Boko Haram. What exactly is the fundamental grievance of the group? To the best of my knowledge, their objective is the Islamisation of northern Nigeria. Now, Nigeria is a multi-religious society. The constitutionally guaranteed secularity of the state is a necessary condition for peaceful co-existence in any such society. Nigeria’s secularity is thus non-negotiable. How then do you even begin to negotiate with a group whose primary objective is the erosion of that very secularity?

Beyond this, members of Boko Haram have shown no remorse for the thousands of innocent lives they have wasted. A splinter group that hinted that it was prepared to negotiate some time ago gave no intimations of regret at the mindless killings perpetrated by the group. Is it thus any wonder that the leader of the group, AbubakarShekau, has been quoted in an audio recording as pointedly saying that “Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty? What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you a pardon.” Really, can you fault his logic? Boko Haram has not conceded to doing any wrong. In fact its misguided members believe they are fighting a righteous cause. How then can you pardon a group that believes it is the wronged party?

There is no doubt that the Niger Delta amnesty emboldened Boko Haram to believe that it could forcefully wrest concessions from the Nigerian state through terror. Let us not forget that the defining essence of any state is its legitimate monopoly of the techniques and instruments of violence within a given jurisdiction. Once this monopoly can be successfully challenged by rival groups the “stateness” of the state is irreparably devalued. Many of those who make the case for amnesty contend that the military option is not working. This implies that the Nigerian state must negotiate with Boko Haram from a position of weakness because of a perceived imminent military defeat. What this will do is only to encourage other groups to adopt violent methods in dealing with a Nigerian state perceived as lacking in efficacy to secure its territory.

Of course, I agree that individual members of Boko Haram who overcome their delusions and voluntarily give up their ways of terror should be pardoned. This could encourage more members of the group to come out of the shadows and live decently among civilized communities. However, the entire Boko Haram tragedy only illustrates the urgency for more drastically addressing the fundamental problems of the Nigerian state. For instance, the need to convene a national conference has become imperative. If at such a conference, for instance, the majority of the people in any state or region opt for sharia law, they should be allowed to have their way. Those whose religious beliefs are incompatible with such a law should simply relocate to areas where they can practice their faiths without hindrance. Again, it is obvious that the present over centralized, unitary security structure is ill-suited to a federal society like ours. It is time to decentralize the Nigerian police force through the creation of state police. If states have their own police outfits comprising officers and men from the local communities, they will be in a better position to detect and prevent criminal activities including terrorism. For, contrary to President Jonathan’s claims, Boko Haram members are not ghosts. They live among human communities. Ghosts do not detonate bombs and crush innocent lives.

Ironically, it is the elite of the north, the region which is most negatively affected by the current malformed structure of Nigeria, that are most vehemently opposed to these necessary measures! Currently, a huge chunk of the country’s budgetary resources is being expended on security with little positive impact on effectively protecting lives and property. The prevalent insecurity across the country has obviously only become another ready source of corrupt capital accumulation by unscrupulous officials. With fundamental decentralization of powers, resources and responsibilities to the component parts of the country, there will be more money available at the grassroots to address the poverty and inequality that, in the final analysis, lies at the root of the Boko Haram menace.